Like Time, This River Never Stops Flowing
by Sakura02
Summary: After taking a serious blow to the head, Kouga forgets that it's Kagome that he really loves and declares his heart to Ayame. Kouga x Ayame. DISCONTINUED
1. Like Time

Like Time, This River Never Stops Flowing

_You know what? I'm in love with the Kouga/Ayame pairing, just as I'm in love with the fact that Kouga loves Kagome and Ayame is just the third wheel. Hmm...maybe that why I like the Inuyasha/Kikyo pairing so much. No wait...that's just because I hate Kagome, haha._

_Anyway, this is just gonna be a short chapter fic (like most of them have been lately), with lots of romance, drama, and the like. Kouga/Ayame shipping of course. :)_

- - -

She was shaking badly. They had just been in a fight, not with each other, but with another demon that had attacked them while they had been walking around the forest. And he had been badly injured because of it. Somehow, she'd managed to half-carry, half-drag his body back with her to the others.

"What happened?" they asked her, taking his limp form from her arms, and lying him on a soft spot in the back.

"I-I don't..." Her legs felt like jelly and she could feel herself sinking to the ground. She was dazed and somewhat in shock; she wasn't sure she'd be able to answer them correctly.

"AYAME! Come on, you have to tell us what happened!"

"Right...s-sorry. Kouga and I were walking t-through the woods, just...you know," she hid her face, blushing madly. "But then we were attacked by this demon. I don't know what kind it was, but Kouga fought it..."

"And he got hurt?"

"Y-Yeah. The demon was stronger than him; it threw him around like a ragdoll. Kouga hit his head, really hard."

Her eyes were quickly welling up with tears, and after a while, she didn't think she'd be able to hold them back much longer. Kouga meant the world to her, and if he died...well, she'd never forgive herself. She watched as his remaining packmates took care of him the best they could; covering him with a warm pelt and running cool water over his face and hair.

"How is he?" she asked, once the other two came back.

"It's hard to tell," one said, frowning. "We'll have to check on him in the morning, or when he regains consciousness."

This was all my fault, she thought to herself. Damn it, why did she have to insist that the two of them take that walk? There were a million other things they could have done, but she chose to take a walk through some demon-infested territory.

She turned away from her friends to look back at him. He was sleeping, which was good, but his breathing was coming in small gasps, which was something she hadn't noticed before. The tears that had threatened to fall before, finally did, allowing her to admit to herself that she had just one choice left...

- - -

"I'm glad we can actually take a break, for once," Kagome said, spreading out the blanket she'd brought with her out on the grass.

"Yeah, it isn't every day we get an opportunity like this," Miroku agreed, stretching his arms, and chancing a sneak attack on Sango's rear, which led to a stinging sensation and a palm print on his left cheek.

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was nice and high, and few clouds spotted the skies. The wind was blowing, which was a little unusual for this time of year, but the breeze felt nice nonetheless. Seeing that there probably wouldn't be another opportunity like this for some time, Kagome, along with plenty agreement from most of the others, decided to have a picnic in celebration of their lastest victory over Naraku and his chronies.

"We shouldn't be doing this at all," Inuyasha countered, from his spot under a shady tree. "A day like today is just the perfect chance Naraku has to catch us off guard. He'd be expecting us to take a break."

Inuyasha was always in a foul mood, but today it was different. Ever since they'd taken a shortcut through the woods, he'd begun to act more cautious and more aware of the things around him. But when they asked him what was wrong, he brushed it off with an excuse about Naraku.

"Even _he_ needs to take a break sometime, Inuyasha," Shippo said, reaching inside Kagome's backpack for whatever food she may have brought with her from her trip home.

"Shippo's right; let's just take it easy for now. Here, I brought you some ramen."

At the sound of one of his favorite foods from Kagome's time, Inuyasha's coyness vanished in an instant. He grabbed the bowl from her, along with a pair of chopsticks, and began eating.

But as all things go, their enjoyment was short-lived; the wind began picking up, and yet the clouds didn't seem to become overcast and the sun was still shining.

Inuyasha was on his toes within seconds, sniffing the air.

"What is it?" Sango asked, referring to any smells he might have picked up.

Inuyasha said nothing, but made somewhat of a disgusted face. He knew that smell all too well. It was masked behind another smell that was also somewhat familiar, but he knew Kouga's stench anywhere. And it was headed right toward them in a whirlwind of power.

The gust of wind stopped in front of them, revealing the user's true form.

"Ayame!" Kagome cried, rushing over to the wolf. "What are you doing here?"

"And where's Kouga?" Inuyasha asked, looking around for where he might be hiding.

"That's what I'm here for," Ayame answered, pushing back all exhaustion from her mind. "Kagome, as much as I hate asking you for this, I need your help. Kouga was injured...and I know your medical practices are better than the ones here."

"But Ayame, I'm not a doctor."

"I know, but...I'm desperate. You must know _something_."

"Well, okay, I guess I could take a look--"

"--Kagome, we don't have time for this!" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing her arm and attempting to pull her away from Ayame. "_We have to find Naraku!_"

"That can wait, Inuyasha. Right now, I'm worried about Kouga, and I want to see if he's all right."

Inuyasha was not pleased, so in a last ditch effort, he tried to get Miroku, Sango, and Shippo to see the reasonings behind his words. Unfortunately, they all agreed that Kouga was somewhat a friend of theirs and that they should at least see if they could do anything for him.

Ayame, pleased that they were all willing to help her, quickly led them back to the den. On their way, she explained to them what had happened and what condition Kouga was in when she had last seen him.

When they arrived, Kouga was still sleeping, but was stirring some. Ayame, grateful to see a change in his condition, quickly ran up to him to see if he was all right. Kagome followed her and began performing some basic techniques she had learned in health class. Of course, they hadn't taught her what to do with a head injury, but from the way Ayame had described their battle, she had no doubt that he could have a concussion.

Kouga's eyes fluttered some, until they were fully open. He took in his surroundings first, before looking at the people around him. Then, his eyes stopped on Kagome, and she had a slight feeling that nothing was wrong with him and at all, and in a minute, he would declare his undying love to her. But when his eyes swept past her and landed on Ayame, that's when she knew something was wrong.

"How are you feeling?" Ayame asked, running her fingers over his hand.

There was a few moment's silence, before he said, "I'm better...now that I know that you're here."

- - -

_Hmm...I don't know why I chose the traditional spelling for Kouga's name (i.e. Kouga vs. Koga), but for some reason, it was bugging me just seeing the four-letter one as opposed to the five-letter one. I'm weird like that._

_Woohoo, I'm going to Six Flags on Monday! Wish me merry times:)_


	2. This River

Like Time, This River Never Stops Flowing

- - -

Recap: While protecting Ayame from a much larger demon, Kouga was badly injured and may have suffered some memory loss...

Ayame's cheeks were stained with blush, but she had to wonder if something was terribly wrong. Before their not-so-pleasant walk in the woods, Kouga had treated her like he always had; like some nuissance that he had just allowed to tag along for the sake of having company. But when he said what he did, well, it made her insides melt, and for the first time, she didn't care about anything he did or said to her in the past.

"Kouga," Kagome said, kneeling down beside them. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really," Kouga said, sitting up. "I remember we were walking in the woods when some demon attacked. After that, everything's sort of hazy."

"Well, at least you got that part right," Ayame sighed. "We _were_ attacked..."

"What are you talking about? I was with Kagome, not you."

The silence that surrounded them was horrible. Kouga felt as confused as everyone looked. What he had said had been what had happened; it wasn't like he was making it up. He did feel like he was missing something, but he figured that was just from his injuries.

He looked at Ayame and smiled. "I'm glad you weren't there." Ayame tensed, feeling hurt. "I might not have been able to protect you, like I wasn't able to fully protect Kagome. What's this?"

Ayame watched as Kouga reached out to touch the side of her calf. She had a huge gash there, but she had completely forgotten about it while worrying over her packmate. When he ran his fingers over it, she winced, and pulled his hand away.

"It's nothing," she said, smiling some. "Nothing at all."

"Good. I was afraid you had gotten hurt."

Ayame smiled at him, weakly, thinking how his injuries could have possibly caused him to lose his memory like that. And was it really a fact of memory loss, or just a case of mistaken identity? Kouga did remember a little of what happened to him, it was just that he had gotten her and Kagome mixed up.

Then, did that mean that Kouga thought he was in love with Ayame?

- - -

_"Honestly, I think he's faking it. You can't really believe that he's lost his memory, right?"_

That's what he, Inuyasha said earlier, but if that were the case, then Kouga would have had to have been a fabulous actor to pull off something like that. Ayame shook her head, ridding herself of the thought. Kouga was injured, and suffered a serious blow to the head; anyone would have lost their memory with an accident like that.

She looked down at her injured leg, slowly running her fingers over the bandages Kagome had helped her to put on. Kouga had been so worried and concerned when he'd seen it, even though Ayame knew he couldn't begin to fathom the measure of worry she felt towards him and his own injuries.

It was night now, but Kagome, with some reassurance from Ayame, had suggested that Kouga go to bed early and get some rest. Kagome said that they didn't teach much about concussions at school, but she figured that since rest cured a lot of other ailments, then perhaps it would help some.

"Psst, Ayame!"

Ayame turned around, meeting the soft-brown eyes of Kagome. She was in her night clothes--a combination of light blue pants and shirt, along with the socks she had been weaing earlier in the day.She looked wide awake, and seemed to want to talk about something.

"How's your leg?" she asked, looking down at the dressings.

"All right, I guess," Ayame said. "It still hurts, but it's better." Then after a while, she added, "Thanks for helping me Kagome. With Kouga the way he is, I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Sure thing. I care for him too, and when you told us what happened, well...I was worried."

Ayame's face fell. _She cared for him?_ This whole time, Kagome acted as if she had no interest in Kouga whatsoever, but now she wasn't so sure. Before, Ayame had always considered her a rival in love, even though Kouga usually ignored her, while he waited hand and foot on Kagome.

"Wait, I'm not saying I _like_ Kouga, not like that or anything," Kagome added, seeing the look on the wolf's face. "I care for him as a friend...like I do for Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and even you, Ayame." Ayame noted that Inuyasha's name was not spoken amongst the list of people Kagome cared for in the friendship way.

"Then, you'll stay out of my way? With Kouga the way he is now...it's the only way I'll get to experience what you feel when he acts the way he does with you."

"Stay out of your way? Ayame, I'll _help_ you get together with him."

She was a little taken aback by that response. In truth, she had expected Kagome to agree with the terms, but to lengthen the playing field, was something completely unforseen.

"How are you going to do that?" She was grateful, but she just had to know what Kagome had up her sleeve.

"It's easy, really. With Kouga's feeling for you and his feelings for me totally mixed up, all you'll have to do is--"

"Ayame?"

Both girls stiffened, not recognizing the voice at first. So, the intruder called out again.

Ayame heard Kagome gasp, quite loudly, and when she turned to face her, she realized that she had scrambled off somewhere in the darkened cave, probably to pretend that she was sleeping. And that left Ayame alone with this unknown someone.

"Ayame...?" They were now beginning to sound desperate, and she could no longer listen to their suffering. She called out to them, guiding them closer to her with the sound of her voice. As they got closer, she was finally able to see.

"Kouga!" she cried, sounding surprised. She had realized it was him the third time he called out to her, but she was secretly hoping his wouldn't find her. Kagome had said she wanted to see the two of them together and that she had some sort of plan, but now seemed too early, and in truth, Ayame was a little nervous. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I couldn't," Kouga said, kneeling down beside her.

"What? Are you all right?"

Even at this distance, the light was still poor, but she was able to make out the shaking movement of Kouga's head.

"I feel sick. My head's _pounding_, I'm dizzy, and I feel like I could throw up any minute."

Ayame smiled sympathetically. She didn't really know what to say to that; she knew these new sufferings were brought on by Kouga's head injury, and that there was practically nothing she could do to help him.

"I'm sorry," was all she said.

"There's nothing _you_ have to be sorry about; I'm the one who got hurt."

"I know," Ayame said, tears threatening to fall. "But it's because I wasn't strong enough."

Kouga looked at her skeptically, before saying, "What did I tell you earlier? It's not your fault. You weren't even there, I was with Kagome." He reached out, brushing away a tear that had silently slipped past Ayame's defenses.

Ayame, now feeling slightly braver, spread herself out, lying her head on Kouga's lap. At first, she noticed that he stiffened, but in less than a minute, he had calmed down and was brushing her hair with his fingertips.

"I love you," she whispered to him. Then, she realized.

"What did you say?" Kouga asked, looking down at her.

Ayame cursed herself for forgetting. Kouga was used to Kagome brushing him off whenever he declared his love to her, and during their small moment of peacefulness, Ayame had forgotten how her own declaration would effecet him.

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean--"

"I never knew how you felt about me, not until now," Kouga said, returning to weaving his fingers in and out of her hair.

"But I've always felt this way," Ayame said, closing her eyes.

- - -

She yawned, opening her eyes and stretching. It was so bright this morning, and she was glad she had gone outside the den. Being up all night with Kouga wasn't something she'd ever dreamed of doing before, and once being able to experience it, she wasn't sure she'd want to do it again.

First, he began stroking her hair, but after a while, he began to grow weary and tired, so Ayame suggested that they switched places for a while. Little did she know that _a while_ meant the entire night to Kouga. He'd fallen asleep in her lap, and while she didn't want to disturb him, she left him there the whole night. And sleeping in an upright position and with a male wolf on your lap, was not something she was crazy about.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to stay awake the whole time, and dozed off sometime in the early morning.

If that weren't bad enough, when she woke up, Kouga was nowhere in the den. She was pretty sure he hadn't wandered off somewhere dangerous, and frankly, she was just too tired to care. She figured that sooner or later he'd find his way back to them. More sooner than later, she hoped. When she found him gone, she went out to the river that bordered the cave.

The ground around her began to shake, but she had shut her eyes again, embracing morning warmth and gentle breeze. Her sense of smell had decreased due to her lack of concentration from no sleep, but she was sure she still regocnized--

Ayame felt her body being lifted into someone's arms; she was being carried like a little girl, like a princess. She feared opening her eyes because she was afraid to see her captor, but in the back of her mind, she knew he wouldn't harm her. Not like this.

Eyes still closed, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his head, roughly running her fingers through his hair.

"Kouga," she murmered into his chest.

He answered her in quite the unexpected way, and her eyes snapped open out of reflex. For one fleeting second, while her eyes were open, she saw him, his eyes closed, his lips pressed to hers, and a bright shade of pink coloring his cheeks.

- - -

_Sorry, I went italic-happy in this chapter. I guess that just means I'm an emphasis-kinda person...either that or I'm just weird (I'll vote on the latter). Oh, and did you notice that every few lines, I started the sentence with "Ayame"? I need to work on that..._

_Well, tell me what you thought about this chapter. I personally, think Kouga's a bit OOC, but then once I thought about, he's supposed to act **a little** different. _

_Review! Please...?_


End file.
